In recent months, the right-wing “non-profit” group, FreedomWorks has been pushing extraordinarily hard to turn people away from signing up for the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. Their tactics have ranged from mass emails attempting to demonize Obamacare to overblown right-wing rhetoric.
Just last month, FreedomWorks called for a “burn your Obamacare card” campaign where they urged young adults to burn their Obamacare registration slips, video-record it, and post the video to YouTube. FreedomWorks has attempted to liken registration for Obamacare to a military draft, a hapless and thoughtless attempt at inciting rage using frivolous rhetoric.
FreedomWorks has made many outlandish claims since beginning its witch hunt against the Affordable Care Act. They have called the ACA unconstitutional, a threat to freedom, and said that if people don’t sign up, the program will collapse. None of these statements are true.
The Supreme Court never found it unconstitutional, no freedoms will be lost as a result of the ACA, and not signing up for Obamacare will only “increase local and state health care spending.” The program will not “collapse.”
The Washington Post reports that “27.2 percent of Americans between 18 and 34 lacked [health] coverage,” making them the group “least likely to carry health insurance.” The exchanges under Obamacare will give 9 million young adults in that age range the opportunity to have subsidized health coverage.
Despite claims by FreedomWorks that Obamacare will financially scalp those who obtain it, studies have shown otherwise. Estimates show that for a 21-year old California Obamacare recipient who makes under $18,000 would only pay a $5 monthly premium.
FreedomWorks, the right-wing “non-profit,” has a personal interest in whether or not people sign up for Obamacare. The group is in the insurance business and has made hundreds of thousands of dollars selling insurance policies. Documents indicated that 16,000 of FreedomWorks’ members joined the group by signing up for insurance policies, said FreedomWorks vice president for strategy Kent Lassman.
Programs like FreedomWorks only perpetuate dirty political plays made by so-called “non-profits” by favoring industries in the name of profits, as well as boosting party politics.
Josh is a writer and researcher with Ring of Fire. Follow him on Twitter @dnJdeli.
